N515 – Entry level learning objectives

Microbiology

Understand the four kingdom classification system used for microbes, which are prokaryotic and which eukaryotic

Understand bacterial structure, how gram positive and negative bacteria are different structurally and what is meant by the terms - chromatin body, glycocalyx, capsule, pili, fimbrae, flagella, peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide, porin protein and outer membrane

Understand how bacteria are classified within the kingdom Monera and what is meant by the terms endospore, pleomorphic, palisades, sarcina and acid-fast

Understand yeast and mold structure, how they are classified and what is meant by the terms pseudohypha, mycelium, conidia, thermal dimorphism, zygote, ascus and basidium

Understand protozoal structure and classification and what is meant by the terms cilium, flagella, amoeboid movement, trophozoite, cyst, syngamy, sporogony, transverse fission and longitudinal fission

Understand viral structure and classification and what is meant by the terms virion, genome, capsid, helical, cubical and complex

Understand how viruses are different from normal prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Immunology

Understand non-specific immunity as the first line of defense, when it is used and what is meant by the terms phagocyte, chemotaxis, cytokine, neutrophil, eosinophil, basophil, NK cell, monocyte and lymphocyte

Understand which tissues comprise the lymphatic system and the importance of lymph nodes, spleen, thymus and bone marrow to immune defense

Understand the three normal hallmarks of antigens (size, complexity and foreignness)

Understand the antigenic terms epitope, paratope and haptens

Understand the process of a humoral immune response, what kinds of microbes elicit it and the terms B lymphocyte, clonal expansion, memory, plasma cell, T helper cell, T suppressor cell, antibody, opsonization, lysis and chemotaxis

Understand and compare the structures and functions of the five major classes of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM)

Understand the difference between initial and subsequent exposure to microbes, both in terms of immunoglobulin produced and speed of elimination of microbe

Understand the importance of complement in humoral immunity, its location, cascade sequence and three major consequences of activation

Understand the process of a cellular immune response, what kinds of microbes elicit it and the terms T cytotoxic lymphocyte, clonal expansion, memory, T helper cell, T suppressor cell and lysis

Understand the components of inflammation, redness, pain, swelling and heat at site, why these occur and how they contribute to elimination of infection

Understand the components of the inflammatory process

- Encounter with stimulus – understand the terms cytokine, histamine, vascular permeability, fever, acute phase response and the role of neutrophils at this early stage

- Activation of plasma and clotting cascade – understand the terms thrombin, fibrin, inflammatory barrier, pus and abscess

- Continued inflammation and onset of healing –understand the role played by lymphocytes and monocytes and the results of abscess formation

- Repair – understand the role of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, what is meant by the term keloid and why this process is generally beneficial

These pages maintained by Diana Cundell.
Last updated 10/03/07.
Return to Philadelphia University homepage.